Consequences
by Kyarorain
Summary: Ash is burdened with guilt after he almost gave up his life to save the Tree of World's Origin and the Pokémon within it. Now he calls his mother to tell her what he almost did.


**Consequences**

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I had an idea for a fic based off the scene from the eighth movie, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, where Ash actually attempts to sacrifice himself to save the Pokémon in the collapsing tree. How would he have felt about what he tried to do afterwards and what if he told a certain person? Cue this fic.

Game Freak and Nintendo own Pokémon. I don't own a thing.

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Ash stood before one of the Pokémon Center's phones, tapping out the number that would dial his home in Pallet Town. It had been a few days now since he had called home and it was about time he let his mother know how things were going on. The phone on the other end rang a few times before it was answered and the video screen turned on to reveal Delia.

"Oh, Ash! I was wondering when you would call me." Delia smiled cheerily. "How have things been?"

"Hey, Mom," Ash responded. "Sorry I haven't called lately, I was busy with things. We've just been to a place named Rota."

"Rota? I think I've heard of it," said Delia. "Did you have fun?"

"Sure. There was a medieval festival and I dressed up as the True Guardian of the Aura," Ash spoke. "They had this battle tournament and of course I won. Then they had this ball and there was dancing and food, but I had to spend most of it sitting in a throne. It wasn't much fun. I just wanted to eat."

Delia nodded attentively, listening to every one of Ash's words. She did enjoy hearing about what he was getting up to.

"Then, some weird stuff happened. This Lucario, that had been sealed away for about a thousand years, came out of the staff I was holding," Ash continued. "It's a bit of a long story. This guy named Sir Aaron sealed Lucario away so that he wouldn't suffer the same fate as him. There was a war back then and he saved the kingdom by sacrificing himself."

"I see. That's an interesting story," said Delia. "That poor Lucario. I can't imagine it was much fun being sealed away for a thousand years."

"Yeah, I'm sure it wasn't." Ash grew quiet, thinking about Lucario. The Pokémon had ended up sacrificing himself to save the Tree of World's Origin from collapsing. He was with Sir Aaron now, but it was still rather saddening to think about. "I had quite the adventure."

"Another adventure? I hope it wasn't too life threatening." Delia knew well enough that Ash had been in quite a few of those situations and it was quite alarming to think about her young son getting into danger so often.

Ash swallowed and looked down at his feet. "Mew took Pikachu away to the Tree of World's Origin. It was only playing, though, and we went over there to get Pikachu back. It was dangerous because there were Pokémon guarding the tree who didn't want us there and there were even bacteria eating cells chasing us. The cells managed to eat us all. It was okay in the end though, because Mew told the tree to bring us back."

"That's quite a relief." Delia let out a small sigh and smiled faintly. "How do you get into these things, Ash?"

"Except it wasn't over yet. The tree started collapsing and Mew was too weak to do anything about it." Ash drew in a sharp breath. "There was one thing we could do though. Sir Aaron used his Aura with Mew to stop the war."

"He used his Aura?" Delia sounded puzzled. "What is Aura supposed to be?"

"It's kinda hard to explain. Anyway, I have the same Aura as Sir Aaron so I figured I could do it." Ash's voice was growing quieter. "I had to do it to save all those Pokémon who were in danger. Lucario couldn't do it by itself at first. The thing is..."

"What is it?" Delia thought she could read guilt in Ash's expression, though she couldn't think why he would be guilty.

"I was only thinking about saving the Pokémon," Ash's voice was barely above a murmur. "I never thought about everyone I would leave behind, what would happen..."

"I don't understand," Delia spoke, her brow creasing. "What are you trying to say?"

The lump in his throat was growing even thicker and he swallowed again, forcing himself to look into her eyes. "If I had done it, then my life would have ended, just like with Sir Aaron."

Delia felt as if she had been hit with a bombshell. Her only child, her precious son, had tried to give up his own life. The revelation left her so stunned that she couldn't even speak. The thought of Ash dying was much too horrible to even think about, even if it was with such noble intentions. Never would she want to lose him, no matter what the reason was.

"Lucario was able to do it by itself in the end so I didn't have to sacrifice myself." Ash bit his bottom lip. "It was only afterwards that I started thinking about what I tried to do. Sure, the Pokémon would have been safe and the tree would be back to normal, but I wouldn't be there anymore. Everybody would be sad that I was gone."

Delia took in a breath and slowly released it. She was still reeling from the shock of it all.

"I'm sorry," Ash mumbled. "I'm sorry I almost caused you much pain." He knew his mother would have especially been devastated had he sacrificed himself. He hadn't even told Brock, May and Max about what exactly happened inside the tree and wasn't sure if he would. He had to get it off his chest though otherwise he felt like the guilt would consume him.

"Ash, don't apologise. You were being selfless and brave. You couldn't stand by and let those Pokémon die, and that was very good of you," Delia reassured him. "Honestly, I am glad that you didn't have to sacrifice yourself after all, but there was nothing wrong with your decision. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you... but I would be proud of you if I knew you were just being a hero."

Ash smiled weakly. "Thanks, Mom. That makes me feel a bit better."

"I just hope your next adventure isn't quite so dangerous. I do worry about you a lot," Delia said. "Take care out there, alright?"

"Yeah, I will," said Ash. "I'll try and call you again as soon as I can. I'm going to have a Battle Frontier match soon and I'll be sure to get myself a symbol."

"Good luck with your match. I'm sure you'll win. Goodbye." Delia raised a hand in a wave. "Love you, sweetie."

"Love you too. Bye." Ash disconnected the call and exhaled heavily. It felt good to get all that off his chest and he was glad she hadn't reacted too badly. What he had almost done was a big deal and he knew it.

If he ever did find himself in a situation like that again, Ash knew his decision wouldn't be any different though. Even if his loss brought pain to others, at least he would be a hero. That was better than dying in vain.

The young trainer turned around and walked to where his friends were standing nearby. "Okay, I'm ready," he told them. "Let's go."


End file.
